Interview With the Vampire
by SinisterChic
Summary: Short story. A reporter from an occult newspaper wants to interview Spike. He tells his tale leading to his relationship with Buffy. Has an unsuspected ending, at least I hope.


****

Interview With The Vampire

A young woman held a pad of paper close to her chest. She brushed a stray brown strand of hair out of her face. She took a deep breath, then reached out and pushed the doorbell. 

It took a moment for anyone to answer. When they did, she came face-to-face with a man. She hadn't known what to expect, but this wasn't exactly it. She'd seen many movies of Dracula and such. She hadn't pictured a bleach-blond male with indented cheeks. Her eyes looked him over. He appeared to be human. 

The guy lifted an eye-brow. "May I help you?"

She cleared her throat. "Uh, yes." She extended a hand. "Sorry to bother you at such a late hour. I'm Miss Jane Winters from the Mystical Tablet."

He took her hand and kissed it. A smirk came to his lips. 

Jane blinked. Why did he make her heartbeat speed up? Man, it had been too long since she'd had a date. 

"Are you William Summers?" she asked.

"Call me Spike," he replied.

She nodded. "There has been gossip that you are a. . . well. . .a vampire."

Laughter fell out of Spike's mouth. He leaned against the doorframe. 

"Mr. Summers, I know it is probably ridicules, but we need a column for our paper. Could you at least explain why the residents believe you are of the living dead?"

"I've seen your paper at the check-out lines. Most of it is a bunch of rot," he expressed. He reached into his duster, which she found odd( him wearing one), and pulled out a pack of Marlboros. He took one out. He offered her one, which she refused. Then he lit his. 

"I realize this," Jane said.

"That last issue with the demon and human having a child. I identified the demon as a Riora. Their species can't have offspring without dying in the process. You lot said the parents were fine. And besides, Riora find mortals repulsive."

Jane's mouth opened. She didn't know how to respond. Did he really think there were demons running around?

Spike blew out a puff of smoke. "Well, I have nothing better to do. I'll do the interview. You should have some factitious information for change."

He stepped back inside, leaving the door open. Jane shook her head and followed.

The house was dark. They came to a living room. Candles lit the mantle. Above it hung a photo. It was of a woman with blond hair. She had her arm around a teenage girl. They both smiled at the camera, happily. 

Spike was slumped in a green chair. He leaned back, inhaling on his cigarette. He gestured to the sofa. Jane went over to it and sat down. She settled her pad on her lap, pen in hand. 

Jane lifted her head. "Tell me, Spike, are you of the living dead?"

He snorted. "Well now, I suppose so. I really don't feel dead at all. I haven't for a very long time actually. Not after. . . Anyways, yeah, I'm a vampire if that's what you mean."

Jane held her pen tighter. This man was crazy. But it would make an interesting story. So, she was going to go with it. 

"So, how did you become a blood sucker, Mr.Spike?"

He propped his feet up on the coffee table. "Oh, right at the beginning then. Well, it's not a fond memory that. I was a pathetic human. Wrote poetry and such. So bloody awful. And it was all for this girl Cicely. She was a sight. Beautiful, smart, and rich. I adored her with all my heart. But she thought I was beneath her." The last part was spoken with anger. He put out his cigarette in an ashtray on the coffee table. 

"Well, I went out to the streets. I couldn't bear the hurt of all my loneliness. I ended up in an alley. Soon, a woman came. She had this essence of power. I was mesmerized as she spoke to me. The next thing I knew, her face changed. She bit me. That was the night I died."

Jane stared at Spike hard. He truly believed what he was telling her, she could see that. Poor man. What could have drove him to this insanity?

She finished scribbling down some notes. "So, do you enjoy being a vampire?" she asked.

"Sure did. I could feel the energy rushing through me. It was an evolution to a higher self."

The past-tense didn't go unnoticed. He said that he 'did' enjoy being a vampire, not necessarily now.

"What did you do with this power?" she questioned.

"Well, now, as much as I hate to admit it. . ." He ran a hand through his slicked-back hair. "I wanted to please my grand-daddy Angelus. God, I hate to confess this. But, peaches always had this thing. I loathed him, but respected him. So when I heard of the slayer, I knew that was it. I had to get my hands on her."

Jane's interest rose. "Slayer?"

"Oh, yeah, the chosen one against the forces of darkness. She was the only thing that could give me a challenge. I went to China and fought her. It was a great battle, and I won. Her blood tasted so good." He sniffed. "I can still remember its potency."

Jane shifted in her seat. His eyes seemed to gleam, which made her nervous. 

"I let Dru have a lick. Anything for my sweet princess."

"I see," the reporter remarked.

"Oh, I didn't mention Drusilla? She was my sire. She saved me."

All Jane could do was nod.

"Yeah, we were a couple. I did everything for her. That's why I came to Sunnydale."

"You mean here?" Jane asked.

"Yeah, the hellmouth itself."

Her face showed puzzlement.

A groan escaped him. "Oh, the opening to hell." As if that explained everything he went on," That's when I met her."

Jane leaned forward. "Who?"

"Buffy." It was a whisper. His eyes stared off into space, dreamily. 

"Who's Buffy?"

His eyes focused again. "Buffy Summers, the mighty vampire slayer." He smiled. 

Jane perked up. "She has the same last name as you," she stated.

He ignored her. "We wanted to kill each other. I wrapped my whole unlife into it. I was obsessed. I did everything I could to do away with her, but it wasn't enough." He chuckled. "Then everything changed. Angel had to go turn evil again from a happy."

Jane bit the end of her pen. "Who?"

"Angel is Angelus with a soul."

Why is that not a surprise? Jane thought.

"He went and put hands on my Dru. I know he did. And she let him," he said with hostility. "She wanted us both. Her daddy and her childe. Well, I wouldn't stand for it. So I did the only thing I could do."

"What was that?" Jane asked.

"I went to Buffy."

"The slayer?"

"Yeah. Can't believe it even now. But, I wanted to do away with the bastard. He had my Dru!"

Spike went on. "I got her back. The slayer defeated Angel, even though I missed that part. I was supposed to go on happily ever after. But, Drusilla and I weren't the same after that. She went and shagged a Chaos demon. The most disgusting, foul creatures. She said I had slayer all over me." A weak smile played at his mouth. "She was right, you know. She passed through my thoughts all the time. She plagued my every move. But still I couldn't figure out why. I told myself it must be failure. The inability to kill her. So I set off for Sunnydale once more."

"I got the gem of amara, a jewel sort of like the holy grail, only for vampires. I set forth into the bleeding sunlight and went after the slayer. And she kicked my arse good and proper."

He seemed glad about that. Jane couldn't make sense of that.

"Again I wondered why I didn't kill her. I had the strength. I'd bagged two other slayers. But this one was different. There was something about it. Took me almost three years to figure it out."

"And what was it, the reason?" Jane asked.

"A chip and this dream," he confessed. "It was an epiphany. I was in love with Buffy Summers."

Ahhh, Jane knew that was it. She was such a romantic. This story was getting good. 

"When I told her, she was grossed out. I understand that now. And then I had to go and chain her up, which made matters worse."

"You chained her up?" Jane questioned in horror.

He grinned. "Seemed like a good idea at the time, luv."

"Anyways, she disinvested me from her house and everything. Took forever to win her trust."

"How'd you do it?" Jane asked.

"There's a tale. Buffy had a sister, Dawn. She wasn't really a person, she was a key. She had the power to open up all the portals, which would destroy the world. Well, this bint, Glory, wanted her. Her minions got a hold of me, thinking I was the key. Those idiots. Glory knew I couldn't be the key, I was a vampire. And even though she wasn't all that bright, she was aware of the fact that I knew where the key really was. So she tortured me. But I wouldn't tell her jack. I was dedicated to protect the little bit and her big sis. I would have done anything for them, even turn to a pile of dust. I all most did. But Buffy came to the rescue." His eyes became a lighter shade of blue. "She thanked me for what I did with a kiss. Not a romantic snog, but it was gentle, showing her gratefulness."

Jane smiled. "That's so sweet. What happened then?"

Spike smiled. "Enjoying this, pet?"

"Actually, yes," the reporter replied.

"The hell bitch, Glory, captured Dawn. We had to go save her. Before we went, I promised the lady slayer that I'd protect Dawn till the end of the world. I tried to do that. This demon, Doc, had this knife. He was after cutting the bit, her blood opening this portal. I fought, but was pushed off the tower. Buffy killed Glory, but after Dawn had been wounded. The portal opened. The only way to close it was to have the key jump in it."

Jane gasped. This was awful.

"The monks that created Dawn, used Buffy to do so. They made her out of Buffy's blood. So, the slayer was Dawn and Dawn was Buffy. Buffy realized what she had to do. She ran and jumped into the portal."

A hand rushed to Jane's mouth. "OH God! That's terrible! I'm so sorry."

Spike got to his feet. He went over to sit on the other side of the couch. "Don't be. That wasn't the end of Buffy."

"What do you mean?"

"Well Red, Buffy's friend, Willow, did this spell. She was a crafty witch. But she tended to go into the dark stuff." He shook his head. "Shouldn't go there. It always has consequences." 

"I see," said Jane.

"Yeah, and concerning Buffy, it was dire. They pulled her out of heaven. She shouldn't have had to come back. Not that I didn't appreciate seeing her again, but . . . Buffy deserved peace. She had been through so much." Sadness came over him. He sighed. 

Spike got out his cigarettes again. He lit one, bringing it to his mouth. 

"Well, there was an up-side. Buffy became rather friendly toward me. I understood her more than anyone. I could sort of relate to what she was going through. But, she couldn't face her feelings. She was afraid of them. She'd loose control, kissing me. Then it resulted to the big one."

"Huh?" Jane asked.

He smirked. "We did the rough and tumble, the nasty tango."

Jane rolled her eyes. Men.

"Buffy swore she would keep away from me. She said she was using me to forget her problems. But I made her feel. She wouldn't survive without me."

A little pompous, Jane thought. 

"Yeah, I waited for her to come after me. And she did. But it wasn't the reason I had hoped for. A nasty was in Sunnydale and they needed all the help they could get. She tried to avoid my gaze. I could tell she was struggling inside. She was about to burst."

"The demon was powerful. He had this ability to shoot electricity. Well, not exactly electricity, but magic bolts of something or other. And it could kill anything. Even vampires."

"The bloody thing came after my Buffy. I couldn't think at that moment. I saw the energy come at her. The only thing that crossed my mind was 'I can't let Buffy die.' So, I jumped in front of it."

Jane widened her eyes. She pointed at him. "But if you. . ."

Spike flicked some ashes from his smoke into the ashtray. "Hold on luv, I'm getting to that."

"I fell into Buffy's arms. And through my foggy vision, I saw something remarkable. Buffy was crying. For me. A soulless vampire who had been a killer. She touched my face as I died. And I knew, right then, as I was sent to the afterlife, that I was loved. Cicely hadn't, and Dru never really did either. But right then, Buffy, the slayer, did." 

Spike wiped his eyes. He took a moment to continue.

"Uh. . . Well I awoke in a very unlikely place. It wasn't heaven, but still. . . I was confronted by the powers that be." He chuckled. "They said that I had proven myself. I couldn't believe it. Me a soulless monster had proven himself to the higher beings." He shook his head. "They gave me a chance to ask for anything I wanted. Didn't take me long to answer. I'd known what I wanted for a long while. I wanted to be with Buffy. Not just for a short while, but forever. They agreed. Next thing I knew, I was opening my eyes to see my slayer before me. She must have defeated that demon, he was nowhere in sight. Buffy slapped me for scaring her to death, and dying, yes I did die. Then she bent down and kissed me, telling me that she loved me."

Spike looked at Jane straight on. "That there was the best day of my life and unlife."

Jane found herself smiling. "Did you live happily ever after?"

Spike's face fell. "Well, nothing lasts forever," he said.

"Oh," she answered.

"But we did for a while. We got married. Yeah, her and me. Funny, a vampire and slayer married. Never had any kids. Vamps can't have them. But we were happy. And we weren't by ourselves, we had Dawn."

"What happened to end it?" Jane questioned.

Spike closed his eyes. "Humans get old. There bodies give out. Buffy's did. Dawn's did."

Jane remained silent. 

Tears glistened on Spike's cheek. "I'm all alone now."

He brushed the water away. "But all I've got to do is wait. Soon I'll be with my Buffy again. She's up there calling to me. See, the powers said I'd be with Buffy always. They meant after death too."

Spike stood up. He put his hands in his pockets. His head flung to the ceiling. "I'm fucking tired of waiting you gits!"

Jane watched as he did this. Her heart broke at the pain she was seeing. 

Her eyes fell to a trunk. For some reason she knew she had to look inside. She went over to it. She found a bunch of weapons inside. Her hand landed on a piece of wood. She brought it out. 

"A stake?" she asked.

Spike's head turned abruptly. "Yeah, go patrolling now and then."

Jane inched toward him slowly. She clutched the stake as she did.

Realization came to Spike. He took off his coat, then his black t-shirt. His bare chest was exposed. His gaze met hers, begging her for the end. 

Jane felt tears fall from her eyes. She thrust the wood down to his heart. Before he turned to a poof of dust, he mouthed 'Thank you' to her.

Jane stood there, staring at the pile of ashes on the floor. That was all that was left of Spike, also known as William Summers. She dried her eyes. Afterward, she gathered up her pad and left.

The Mystical Tablet sold the most issues that month than ever before.


End file.
